CYBER/PHYSICAL ATTACK IN DEIMOS GROUND SEGMENT – SPAIN
Critical infrastructure
DEIMOS Elecnor Group has the Ground Segment for the DE-2 satellite and operates its own Ground Station for third parties’ companies for other satellites. Moreover it has installed in DEIMOS Elecnor Group premises Ground Stations for third companies and it provides general infrastructure and communication services for those Ground Stations. DEIMOS Elecnor Group offers a variety of services related Ground Segments Systems: satellite control center for Deimos-2 satellite, its own Ground Segment suite of products, gs4EO for Deimos-2 and other satellites and customers, its own Ground Station for third parties missions as well as the location of third parties Ground Stations in its premises. This infrastructure is deployed in the DEIMOS Elecnor Group premises in Castilla La Mancha, Spain.
DEIMOS Elecnor Group premises in Castilla La Mancha are about 4000 m2, of which about 100 m2 correspond to satellite control center and data & communication centers. Ground Stations are located in an external plot with a fence for each antenna. gs4EO suite is composed of several critical systems such as mission control, mission planning, flight dynamics, and image processing.
Current situation
In cyber security, DEIMOS Elecnor Group is working to implement ISO 27001 in all its companies. It is currently implemented in DEIMOS Space and is expected to be implemented soon in DEIMOS Engineering and Systems. Furthermore, the INCIBE (CERT for citizens and companies) is one of the bodies that actively contributes to improving the response to security incidents in companies. INCIBE’s contribution is based on training, the transmission of vulnerabilities with the solution and the provision of certain tools to improve security. Cybersecurity training is another of the companies’ ways of reducing risks. For physical security, access to the building is controlled by means of identification cards with specific profiles according to the needs of each user.
Story
DEIMOS Elecnor Group proposes a pilot offering our commercial ground segment gs4EO and associated infrastructure, which serve as the GS of the DE-2 currently flying mission. The pilot will consist in building-up the required shadow deployments of Deimos’ ground segment systems mimicking the operational environment, for the assessment of the current security measurements available in logical and physical infrastructures and any security issue derived from the pre-crisis management on physical and cyber threats on logical infrastructures. The actors will be simulated using the same mechanisms and security measurements as done in real operations.
Application and overall impact
7SHIELD proposes a strategy for all crisis management associated to logical (cyber) and physical threats affecting security and, in general, the integrity of the assets and operations carried out. We believe that our commercial ground segment systems gs4EO can evolve to adopt newer security mechanisms or / and discover vulnerabilities currently unknown to us. As well we expect to improve and better formalize the operational procedures in place to bring the services we directly provide (either by our own antenna or to other ground station network providers installed in our premises) towards our customers.